Thomas Heyward prepares for SCISA playoffs

After Thomas Heyward’s 64-34 home loss to Palmetto Christian on Friday, Rebels coach Nic Shuford and his assistants were already plotting their strategy for their upcoming SCISA Class AA first-round state playoff game at Florence Christian.

“We’re gonna keep trying to tackle,” Shuford said, shaking his head. “We’ve got to wrap around and finish the play.”

The Rebels, fourth in Region 2, earned a No. 4 seed and will visit Florence Christian, the Region 1 champion, on Friday.

A win would propel THA into a Nov. 15 state semifinal against the Northwood-Spartanburg Christian winner.

The opening drive of the game against Palmetto Christian gave an indication of how the night would go. The Rebels (7-4) forced the Eagles into a fourth-and-2 situation. However, quarterback J.T. Waters ran a keeper, faked out one tackler, broke away from another tackler, and went all the way for a 63-yard touchdown. The Eagles led 6-0. Waters would go on to run for 462 yards and seven touchdowns.

After the Rebels failed to score on their first possession, Brodie Etheridge sacked Waters for a 10-yard loss, forcing the Eagles to punt. Thomas Heyward then marched downfield, with quarterback Davis Owens hitting Collin Roach for 28 yards to the 5-yard line and Seth Jones running for a score on the next play.

Jones ran for the 2-point conversion to put the Rebels up 8-6.

The lead was short-lived. On a play that featured more tackling problems, the Eagles’ Ben German returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown and a 14-8 lead.

In the second quarter, with the ball on the Palmetto 35, the Rebels made what might have been their best play of the game. On fourth-and-16 in a steady rain, Owens dropped back and Rountree blocked a blitzing Eagle coming from the left. Owens threw downfield to Roach, who made the catch on the 15 and took it in for a touchdown, tying the game at 14.

After another Waters touchdown put the Eagles up, 22-14, the Rebels came right back. A 6-yard run by Jones and an 11-yard run by Rountree gave Thomas Heyward a first-and-10 from the 37. Then Belger burst up the middle for a 37-yard touchdown, and the score was tied, 22-22.

As the rain kept falling, however, the Rebels let the game slip away. They trailed 36-22 at the half and 42-34 at the end of the third quarter.

“Thirty-four points is not a bad night,” Shuford said. “But we should’ve done better. There were a couple of drives we didn’t finish when it was still a one-possession game.”

Regarding the offensive game plan against Florence Christian, Shuford said, “We plan on continuing with the run-heavy attack.”

Jones has been the workhorse, with Rountree and Belger providing support.

“Seth has been the guy,” Shuford said. “Jared and Zach have been a great one-two punch. Zach has a little more speed, and Jared’s more of a bruiser.”